Bastion of Intolerance - notice of exit

This is being posted FOR Korg...my RL boyfriend. Ariaruil Stygian.
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I hereby list the reasons that I am leaving the forums...think of this as 10 Points in Favor of Looking at SL Forums as a Bastion of Intolerance. It ain't drama, it ain't pitiful me, and I won't be around to read any responses. It's simply what it is.

1. There is an unbelievable disconnect between what liberals are allowed to get away with in terms of posts, ad hominems and other "non-constructive" posts and what the SL Forum TOS and enforcement experience shows. There is a notable tolerance of non-conservative, pro-LL/SL posters engaging in negative, insulting, degrading and defmatatory posts against specific groups and individuals while simultaneously enacting a policy of "protectionism" by forum mods/liasons for equivalent/identical transgressions. Threads are shut down and posters "disciplined" in a hugely inconsistent manner - the common thread being that there exists a notable underlayment of social engineering towards a specific, desired goal...one that does not support a non-liberal bias. In one case, a specifically voiced threat concerning a US public figure was reported via abuse report; the response was "we don't consider that a real threat".

2. There is a pack mentality concerning most political discussions - whether RL or SL. With little chance of serious discussion or "movement" by anyone, sarcasm reigns - including 90% of my own posts. However, posters dissenting/rejecting the desired goal (see #1 above) are allowed to be targetted and flagellated while being deprived of the ability to respond in kind without the threat of forum gang rape or moderator intervention with prejudice.

3. The international component of the forums are repeatedly allowed to take pot shots at any and all things American --- but similar posts about non-US cultures, leaders, lifestyles are viewed with "extreme prejudice".

4. The liasons seemingly refuse to enforce a single set of rules for residents - especially obvious when one researches and reviews the sequence and timing of thread closures, warnings/suspensions reported in the forums, and public warnings by them inside threads themselves. Whether this is an accurate assessment or not, the appearance that it is true is one which is neither acknowledge nor positively disputed. Instead, no response or ambiguous/empty rhetoric is all that results when confronted directly.

5. The forums, since I joined in June, have never been bastions of tolerance - despite public and private argument to the contrary. There are VERY specific and identifiable issues on which intolerance is all but officially encouraged by LL personnel through their actions. This is further made obvious by the occasional expression of personal interest in specific issues by Linden personel under their Linden names.

6. A further concern of note - the ability of Lindens to use their non-Linden alts to make X or Y argument and then influence or direct prosecution/disciplinary action against posters holding views contrary to their own has never been addressed. That such Linden/non-Linden-alt relationships occur is well-known; however, with the exact relationships not known to all, there will always be at least the appearance of impropriety and the possibility for abuse without recourse by a paying but non-Linden resident.

7. Behavior on the forums is not isolated from that in-world with respect to disciplinary actions. This releationship has repeatedly been inconsistently overseen - suspended residents have been allowed to post in the forums, ratings inworld have resulted from forum posts not actions inworld, etc. Discussions with liasons on such issues has thus far resulted in non-committal, non-responsive responses or outright denial of the validity of the argument.

8. An extremely vocal minority of the residents, as with most online games, dominates these forums. They have, I believe, an undue influence on forum conduct and culture - but considering #6 above, perhaps it is understandable that this is tacit support of the ppoint raised in #1, this is a social "experiment" only insofar as residents are unknowingly being steered towards a specific social goal.

9. Announcements which will be beneficial to specific groups are often posted within threads rather than in the Announcement forums - thus "requiring" perusal of threads in all forums in order to stay abreast of events, Town Halls, policy changes, TOS changes, LL news, etc.. The consequence is that even "skimmers" are forced to at least browse undesired content (sexual, political, satirical, etc.) just to find out what the hell LL is planning, doing, considering.

10. (fill in your own)

That's it. This is likely not to remain visible for long. Doesn't matter. I am gone from the forums for good. I am counting the days 'til all my land is sold and my annual subscription runs out. The forums no longer exist for me.

If you see me inworld, please, turn and walk away from me if you are a liberal, a liason or a non-customer. I'd hate to be abuse reported for simply existing inworld.

Korg Stygian
(death bringer of orcdom)

Isn't it against the ToS to post for someone who's banned?

Ding dong the ding dong is dead

Paranoia strikes deep.
Into your life it will creep.
It starts when you're always afraid.
Pretty soon the men come and take you away.

Fill in the blank, eh?

10. My method of "being as annoying and intolerant as possible as a form of reverse psychology" not only failed miserably, but has resulted in my banning. So, rather than admit to all the grief and trolling I've done over the past months resulting in a very appropriate and ironic ban, I will say that I'm leaving. This is sort of reminiscent of a bad employee saying "I quit" right after the boss fires them.

Dear Alty,

I guess reporting posts does work!

Sincerely,

Laughing Liberal

I just kinda find it funny that he's talking about us being intolerant, when he was banned for his anti-gay sentiments

Maybe the bigger picture is that forums about an online VR world/game/technology/toy/whatever are NOT the place to post every thought that enters your head about politics? Are all of the political posts really doing anything to help the SL community?

That's why they're typically in the off-topic forum.

Even off-topic, don't you think the endless drumbeat of posts about politics is kind of destructive and just causes more trouble than benefit? I understand wanting to share thoughts with friends and all that, but at some point, isn't even our off-topic forum the wrong place for all this stuff?

The reason why I post in political threads and start them is that I am genuinely interested in what people think and why they think them. Then certain folks enter the thread and decide to contribute by saying that everyone who disagrees with them is a moron and can't read, and throws any facts that have been posted out as "biased nonsense."

If people kept open minds, these things wouldn't happen.

WAR IS LATE TERM ABORTION! Dont forget that KORG!

NO MAS KORG! Viva la revolucion!

If those are your kids in the picture you posted, Darko, they are adorable! (My kids have that same toy pictured around here somewhere, lol.)

Actually he IS right ya know.

Have you *read* his posts? No matter what the other person says, he attacks them in some way and refuses to even acknowledge that their opinions are legitimate, even if he disagrees. I think he posted somewhere that anyone who disagrees with him is wrong and a moron. I didn't take it as sarcasm because all of his other posts support that.

If someone portrays their views in a civil and open minded fashion, then their posts won't be reported for abuse. It's that simple.

You don't need to call a person a dumbass if you disagree with them. Just say "Well that's a valid thought, but here's what I think..."

Yes Beryl those are my babies, thank you (the magnetic draw toy rules!). The have been taught not to talk to old scary Neo-Cons like Korg. I have told them if they are approached by one to scream as loud as possible and run away!

LMAO......VIVA LA REVOLUTION.......ONE LOVE

I think he has some valid points. I've always thought Korg was a pretty intelligent guy with a lot of interesting things to say. It's too bad it usually got drowned out by his endless streams of ad hominem attacks. He could have made people think about their positions in a more critical light if he'd just expressed his dissenting opinions in a more reasonable and less condescending way. I don't think there's a particular bias by LL. It's just that among the regular forum posters there's more liberals than conservatives. There have been countless intelligent and worthwhile debates and there are quite a few people of very different political views than mine that I respect greatly for the even handedness with which they argue. Oh well, can't say I'm especially surpised, but I never took Korg seriously enough to be offended by anything he had to say. If nothing else he was always true to his curmudgeouny ways. Happy trails, Korg.

Was this information posted somewhere in the SL forum? While I"m no big fan of Korg, neither would I like to see his "dissenting opinion" squelched. Sure, I was a bit irritated by his response, below, but I'm a big enough boy to roll with those innocuous punches.

/120/05/33724/2.html#post356456

Well said Chip - I agree. Outside of the ad hominem attacks I found his view to interesting and informative.

Paolo: /120/40/33643/3.html

Thanks for the link, Lance. I had dropped out of that thread long before those last couple of pages were posted.

A bastion of intolerence has indeed made its exit.

I thought it was ....

Thanks robin....maybe next time you can just post for me